DoctorDaveLGT

More.

More paint/body work pic's. You can see the difference in the two pearl's here. The rear quarter hadn't been touched yet while the door jam had been completed.

The beginning of the re-paint. A lady backed into the wagon while it was parked in my work lot. I was lucky enough that she went office to office looking for the owner. She hit it with the hitch on her 1500 Silverado and could have totally driven off or parked a few spaces over and I would have had no clue what/who hit it.

First and other rounds of performance mods.

First thing I did with the car is replace the cut springs with Swift's, threw on the Koni struts, and new wheels and tires. Also had a thorough inspection done to get an idea of the general health of the car and had all fluids replaced. A good buddy of mine liked the wagon so much he decided to join the Subaru family by flying to Florida to pick a up a rare Outback Sedan 3.0 in SWP. First road trip in the wagon, excluding driving the car back to IN, was to pick up two Shiba Inu puppies in the middle of Missouri. My wife's nickname for the car became "Shibaru". Few examples of why I bought it. I've also fit and hauled a fully assembled (collapsed) treadmill. Took off the yellow fog-light film and put on the blue grampus mirrors.

The best picture of it pre-purchase. The day I picked her up. The only pic I have from the drive back. We left a little before 10AM and got back around 3AM.

I've been meaning to put together a build thread for a while now with how much I've put into this car and how much I've fallen in love with it as my ideal daily driver. I'm not the most proactive when it comes to taking pictures when I make modifications/changes so I'm going to post the majority of pictures that illustrate changes or just random photo's I've taken during the journey. Going forward I hope to be better at documenting changes that involves more than just saving receipts in my rapidly growing binder. So, I've put on NPR's Tiny Desk youtube channel and decided to dive in. I purchased the car on October 23rd, 2017, in Steep Falls Maine. I had been searching craigslist for the past 2 months not for this particular car, but for a new daily driver in general as my '94 Cadillac Seville had sprung it's second oil leak (half block & head) and I didn't want to put the time/money into it even though the car was in mint condition with only 70k all original miles. ******* Northstar's. I had talked with a few sellers and test drove a few different cars and nothing worked out. Then I came across this beautiful, turbo white wagon with a manual all the way out in Maine . My gf, now wife, was skeptical becuase I was originally set on getting an EP3 civic for the economy and becuase I wouldn't be driven to modify it which would alllow me to give my S2000 some serious attention. Ended up calling the seller and after some negotiating agreed to buy it sight unseen. The massive amount of dealer maintenance receipts he had from the prior owner helped to take the doubt out of it. Shortly after that call I purchased airline tickets to fly out, pick it up and drive it back ~17hrs to Indiana. I didn't know at the time that this was a 1 of 49 SWP manual wagon with black interior.....lucky me. It had roughly 146k miles on it when the keys were handed over to me and completely stock with the exception of cut OEM springs, Rota Gravel wheels, grill, and a dealer installed SPT intake. To make up for lost time I'm not going to list out general maintenance or OEM replacement parts that ocurred during the time of purchase to now. There was quite a few when the car went through the re-paint process (i.e. roof rails). 2005 Subaru Legacy Wagon GT Limited - formerly Satin White Pearl and went through a slight color change to Toyota's Wind Chill Pearl. This can only really be seen and appreciated when the two colors are side by side. Modifications "NOC" = not on car "WIP" = work in progress Engine Original Motor - Currently ~179k miles Fluidampr crank pulley COBB Short Ram SF Intake w/ Air Box Grimmspeed Coated TMIC w/ Splitter IAG AOS v3 (comp) w/ 3MI Drain Hose Invidia Q300 Exhaust Grimmspeed Limited Coated Catted Downpipe Killer B Hard Inlet SAMCO Black BPV Hose Silicon Vacuum Lines TurboSmart Kompact BOV Grimmspeed 3-port EBCS Radium Engineering Black Top Feed TGV Deletes Radium Engineering Fuel Regulator Radium Engineering Top Feed Fuel Rails & Plumbing Kit & Pulse Dampers IAG 3mm Phelonic Spacers ID 1050x Injectors AEM 340LPH Fuel Pump w/ iWire hard wire kit Killer B Holy Headers w/ EGT Bung Swain Coated Killer B V-band Up-pipe Swain Coated Killer B Aluminum Oil Pan Killer B Oil Pan Baffle Killer B Oil Pick-up IAG Stock Location Oil Feed & AVCS Line GDT Cylinder 4 Cooling Mod JMP Custom BNR 18g GrimmSpeed V2 Coated Turbo Heat Sheild w/ Gold Foil PTP Turbo Blanket Koyorad Aluminum Radiator Killer B Water Pump Housing ARP 11mm Head Studs NGK Iridium Spark Plugs One Step Colder GrimmSpeed 1.1mm head gaskets GrimmSpeed Exhaust Gaskets - All available/offered Subaru OEM Engine Gasket Full Reseal Kit Transmission SpecB 6spd & R180 Diff South Bend Clutch Stg3 Daily ACT Street-Lite Flywheel (Single Mass) STI Short Throw Linkage Cobb Adj STS w/ Bushings GroupN Transmission Mount Cusco Reinforced Diff Carrier GoodRidge SS Clutch Line Torque Solutions Drive Shaft Carrier Bearing Suspension & Other Swift Sport Mach Springs Koni Sport Struts Perrin 25MM FSB w/ RalliTek Bushings Cusco 21MM RSB Cusco Lower Arm Bar Brace Type 1 Cusco Steering Rack Brace STI 13:1 Steering Rack (15+ STI) Super Pro Steering Rack Bushings STI Solid Steering Joint AVO RSB Brackets Subaru STI/Group N Top Hats Super Pro Front Roll Center Kit (KCA313) Super Pro Bushings & Bolts - Front LCA (SPF3091K) - Rear LCA (SPF5112K) - Front Camber Adj Bolts (SPF4351) - Rear Diff Mount (SPF3201K) - Trailing Arm (SPF3388) - Rear Upper Control Arm - Outward (SPF3389K) - Rear Upper Control Arm - Inner (SPF3390K) - Front Crossmember Isolator Mount (SPF3199K) - Rear Toe Control Arm Outer (SPF3392K) Kartboy Solid Endlinks Front & Rear SpecB Aluminum Suspension (all of them) Powder Coated Subframes F+R PowerFlex Rear Subframe Bushings STI Rear Strut Bar STI Solid Steering Linkage IAG Street Series Pitch Stop Whiteline Rear Lateral Link Kit STI Group N Motor Mounts STI Flexible Lower Arm Bar & Braces Prova Rigid Collars F+R Brakes Grimmspeed Master Cylinder Brace GoodRidge SS Brake Lines "NOC" 2011 STI Master Cylinder & Brake Booster "NOC" tbSTI Rear Backing Plates "NOC" Rear Brembo Calipers "NOC" Exterior/Engine Cosmetics Ceramic Tint "WIP" Yakima Ridgleline Towers w/ Aero Bars Subaru OEM Waist Spoiler Subaru OEM Window Visors Subaru JDM STI Alcantara Owners Manual Cover Madrig CF Belt Cover w/ STI logo Madrig CF ABS Cover Madrig CF Battery Cover Madrig CF Air Intake w/ Snorkel Madrig CF Radiator Cover (works with snorkel) Madrig CF Grill Surround for Facelift JDM Grill Madrig Extended Hood Scoop Madrig Extended Wing Madrig CF COBB Air Box Lid Subarua OEM Spats & Strakes Subaru Grampus Blue Mirror Signals Subaru JDM Tail Lights Torque Solutions Black Radiator Stay Brackets Burger Motorsports Black Slip-On Exhaust Tips for BMW N51/N52 Redline Tuning Hood Struts w/ Carbon Fiber Sleeve Perrin Brake Reservoir Kozy Primitive Racing Skid Plate STI JDM Oil Cap JDM Facelift Conversion: - S402 Fenders - S402 Carbon Fiber Lip - JDM facelift Spec B bumper & grill w/ Madrig Composites CF surround & emblem - Custom JDM Blue tint facelift headlights from Circuit Demon - Morimoto 4TL-R projectors with lens etching of S402 logo over honeycomb background - Profile Prism RGB Demon Eyes w/ BT controller - JDM Multi Color Fogs Interior Grimmspeed SS Shift Knob w/ Perrin Reverse Lockout Subtle Solutions WRX/STI Metal Dead Pedal Dual Vent Gauge Pod PLX Wideband AFR Gauge Subaru STI DEFI Gauge Pack Subaru S402 Door Sills Subaru OEM Homelink Mirror JDM Double DIN HVAC Pioneer AVH-601EX SVX Adaptor Harness RAAMmat Sound Deadening (doors, hatch, cargo area) Full Black Upper Interior Conversion JDM Door Cards w/ Additional Speaker Grills & black alcantara inserts from Spec B JDM McIntosh Subwoofer Mount for Cargo Area JDM McIntosh Mirror Tweeter Housings JDM McIntosh Center Speaker for dashboard"NOC" WRX Aluminum Pedals Dual Center Console Cubby WeatherTech Floormats Front (COBB Badged) & Rear 2014 OEM Front STI Seats - Driver & Passenger tbSTI Rear Recling Seats "NOC" 2011 OEM STI Steering Wheel Red Seat Belts Redline Goods Shifter & E-brake Boot - Black w/ Red Stiching 08-09 Lower Dash/Console Trim Lighting DiodeDynamics TapTurn Flasher Relay Osram D2S CBB HID Low Beam LED High Beams LED Interior Lights LED Turn Signals - Amber Front & Red Rear LED Reverse Lights LED Running Lights LED Yellow Fog Lights Wheels/Tires Enkei Raijin (Gun Metal) 18x8.5 +45 Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ (245/40R18)) McGard STI Lug Nuts Future Plans In No Specific Order: 6pot/2pot Brembo Brakes - Just need 6 pots and rotors/pads Upgraded Stereo to Replicate McIntosh Speaker Locations - Upgraded USDM speakers with the addition of (all speaker mounts installed except center speaker): - Additional tweater on front doors - Additional 3" mid on front doors - 8" Rear sub in cargo area

My engine temp has always stayed consistent and I've never seen it go above half-way up the gauge even when I give it the business in summertime. I've heard that generalization as well but personally haven't experienced it myself. Depending on my driving and season I'll see my oil temps fluctuate from anywhere between 90°-113° celsius. All 4 corners are rolled, koni shocks, swift lowering springs and whiteline com c top hats up front for some extra adjustability. If i remember my alignment specs correctly camber is front -1.2 & rear -1.7. The fronts never rubbed after the roll and com c top hats. Rears would rub if I had a ton of cargo or 3 grown adults in the rear, sometimes 2 depending on the adult.

Your revs shouldn't be near 4k while highway cruising with 235/45's unless you're really bookin' it. I run 18x8.5 Raijins with 245/40s in the summer and I'm right around 3.5k at 80mph.

What glue did you use? I've got an e-brake & shifter boot in route from Redline that I'm goin to tackle in the coming weeks.

This motivates me to get the inserts re-done on the jdm door cards, get them in and have the rear seat reupholstered with some red stitching.

I'm guessing he is still making the engine covers as well but not sure if he has any for sale ads currently for them. He just need to make a catalog.

I know, I just really hate the fitment of the Cobb box and would love if you made a replacement for it.

Wasn't too sure about the color seeing them right out of the box. The shop lighting made them seem almost too dark or burgandy but after seeing them draped over the seat I think they're going to be sssiiiiiiiiiiiiick.

Mmmmm, that would be awesome. I'm still holding on to hope that madrig makes a replica SYMS intake/airbox w/ snorkel to get rid of the shitty Cobb box. https://syms.jp/car_category/intake_legacy_blbp/

Managed to pick up a set of the middle spats that go in front of the rear wheels through the Japanese auctions. Also watching a few of the STI flexible strut tower bar auctions and debating if I want to take the chance on it. I know it will fit with the GS TMIC but I've got a Crawford AOS V2 as well and not sure if it will clear. There's a set of white S402 fenders on the auctions currently and had I seen those before buying the killer b headers I may have tried to snag those. Day 11 without the wagon and getting very tired of driving the XJ. Seatbelts are supposed to come in today and excited to see how those will look against the STI seats with their red stiching and headrest embroidery. I went with a slightly darker red belt as opposed to the lighter, brighter Ferrari red.

When/if you make one that allows the snorkel put me down for one!

Work was hell today, but it ended on a holy note. Surprised these got done so quick. Original eta was mid-April and I was hoping to have all of the fueling upgrade items bought and ready to go by then. Oh well, will be a nice art installation for the home office until then. Quick edit: Heard back from MoorePower on the 5MT blast plates and they're still looking to fill a few spots for the group buy.

Bump, price drop.

Don't lose hope just yet, it took them 6 days to respond. I reached out on 12/30 through their generic website contact method. And they responded on Monday and sent a PayPal invoice at the same time. Maybe give them a call.

I know, I wasn't even sure what their current commitment/price level was at when I reached out. There was a guy selling a set on the Indiana FB group for $300 that sold in what seemed like a few hours and I was seriously close to buying those since I thought that price was almost to good to beat.

Done! Also thought I'd share for those interested. Moore Power had a 5MT blast plates group buy over the holidays. I reached out after their stated deadline and they sent me an invoice and stated a few spots were still avaiable. Current price for the blast plates is $269.

For those interested in changing the color of your seat belts or just replacing worn/torn ones. Can do custom orders and will service the retractor mechanism while they're at it. https://www.safetyrestore.com/

It's pretty reasonable in my opinion. It's $74.99 per seat belt plus the cost for you to ship them to MA. They gaurantee a 24 hour turn-around from the time they receive, lifetime warranty, and meets all federal certifications/requirements. They can even do custom orders. https://www.safetyrestore.com/content/74-colored-seat-belts#SeatBeltColors

Dropped off the wagon at the shop for them to finish to the STI passenger seat. Just need a bracket(s) fabricated to get the seat frame to attach to the STI manual seat rails and it's done. With the winter tires on the car and the weather supposed to be above 45° for the majority of the week I'm in no rush to drive the car. Figured I'd have them pull both front seat belts so I can ship them out to Safety Restore and have them done with red webbing.